WESTWOOD, N.J.—Superintendent of School Raymond Gonzalez confirmed at the Dec. 19 meeting of the Westwood Regional Board of Education that the Regional Middle School expansion project is on track for the addition of eighth grade in September 2020.
There will be major changes to the schedule. Presentations and hearings are planned in January so that families and other stakeholders can give input and prepare.
As well, the district is settling on a demographer to help with planning overall, and the district’s financial audit is expected to be presented soon.
This was the final meeting for Westwood rep Joseph Blundo, who is stepping down just shy of 10 years on the dais, and for Township of Washington rep Joseph McCallister, who has served three years.
Blundo threw himself vigorously into his family business, Joe’s Craft Pies, 257 Westwood Ave. McCallister, an English teacher who won his seat on a showing of 80 write-in votes, is closing in on his doctorate.
Both men were given plaques and lauded for their sacrifice and contributions to the district.
There was uncertainty heading into the meeting until Gonzalez settled it: If the district was unable to make the transition in September 2020, then it would have been delayed to September 2021.
“We are planning to open for business in September 2020 at the middle school,” Gonzalez said, pausing for a wave of cheers and applause from the audience.
“Looking at the timeline we wanted to make sure we would have substantial completion of the project done by the end of the summer so that we would be able to move in and prepare for the arrival of students,” he said.
Principal Shelley LaForgia has said her team is prepared to work around interior renovations that may be ongoing as classes resume, Gonzalez said.
“If we didn’t have the expansion, if we didn’t have the addition, we wouldn’t have room for 200 more students, so we are very excited about that,” Gonzalez said.
Crews have been working on the middle school, at 23 Third Ave. in Westwood, since contracts were approved following the Dec. 12, 2017 passage of a $24 million expansion referendum in Westwood and the Township of Washington.
The work will establish a grades 6–8 “true” middle school and a grades 9–12 high school, modernize and centralize middle school offerings, and improve academic and emotional supports.
In June, Gonzalez told Pascack Press, “It is extremely exciting to see the structure take form before our eyes, but it has taken a tremendous amount of coordination and communication.”
Meanwhile, he said, “The administration is looking closely at curriculum, schedules, and staff to make sure that everything is in place when we finally have grades 6–8 together in one school.”
Transitioning the eighth grade from the Jr./Sr. High School, at 701 Ridgewood Road in the township, to the middle school requires more than just construction of the physical space, Gonzalez said.
He explained the middle school was one of 15 schools selected to develop technologies toward a school schedule that addresses the holistic needs of the students based upon the academic, developmental, and social-emotional growth of the whole child.
The district aims to finalize the schedule by March to give the school time to build out the schedule and aid course selections.
Two presentations will be scheduled to provide the opportunity for the school community to learn more, ask questions, and provide feedback to be considered in the final plans.
The district’s preliminary budget adoption is set for March. The budget hearing and final budget adoption is set for April.
